Between the Owl & the Dove
From an old journal entry:
“Dog tired. Still, I have the evening to myself. It’s still light out and warm enough to allow me to sit out in the back yard and throw a tennis ball for Jackson. There’s an owl hooting away off in the woods to my left and a mourning dove crying in the trees off to my right. Life is good right now. Never mind the day that’s already passed into history and the one that may never arrive. I’m living in the now.
A cool, late summer day. Breezy, partly sunny, and the greenery is pregnant with autumn. You can just tell by looking that the fields and forests will be awash with color in a few short weeks. After an all too brief final blaze of glory comes the inevitable “stick season”, then the cold, bleak, colorless winter, the ice, the freezing rain, the treacherous driving, the cold nights and the long wait until life returns.”
…and another a couple years later when Jackson (my “faithful friend”) was getting older and slower:
“I was rushing to get dressed at 805a and looking at poor Jackson. He’s so patient… he was just laying on the floor and looking up at me forlornly as I was talking to him and getting dressed. All he wants is a little attention. He lives for those few minutes that I carve out of my day to spend playing with him or walking in the park or whatever. This morning I decided it wouldn’t kill me to be a little late so I sent an email to work and went out to play with him for just a few minutes. He can only manage 15 minutes or so these days before he’s tired, but it still makes him so happy. I need to do that sort of thing more often. Life is waiting for me but it won’t wait forever.”
I ran across those journal entries and decided it was time. I’d been wanting to include Jackson in one of my songs somehow, but it’s tough – that’s very emotional territory for me even now.
Lyrics:
September? I didn’t notice
Just wanna sit this tired body down
Another day, another dollar
Barely enough to go around
Just a few short minutes
And the work stress fades away
Feel the quiet settle in
Collected at the ending of the day
[chorus]
There’s an owl hooting off to my left
A mourning dove crying on my right
One holding on to what’s left of the day
One beckoning the night
And – just like that – the stress is gone
While there’s still light in the sky above
There’s time to spend with a faithful friend
Between the owl and the dove
The grass is damp with evening dew
From this Indian summer day
The woods and fields are showing signs
Of the autumn they’ll soon display
I drink it all in as I toss the ball
For my happy, faithful friend
And for a moment, here and now
Tomorrow’s worries I can suspend
[chorus]
Somewhere between what’s come and gone
And what may never be
There’s a time and place I didn’t know
Was waiting here for me
Not looking back, not looking on
Just this moment I’m part of
With peace enough for one more breath
Between the owl and the dove
[chorus]
There’s time to spend with a faithful friend…
Between the owl and the dove.